On the pleasures of owning persons: The hidden face of American slavery

“On the Pleasures of Owning Persons” The real reason Americans owned slaves was not just financial. They did it because they liked it. For the first two centuries of American history, starting with the colonists, slavery was a part of the social, economic, and governmental order. Looking back, many of us find it more comfortable to view slave owners as evil or sociopathic. The startling truth is that many were otherwise admirable. To understand America’s struggles with race relations, we must take an uncensored look at our country’s involvement with slavery. We examine three questions: · What were the pleasures of owning slaves? · How did freedom-loving, American Christians explain ownership to themselves? · How did they defend themselves against this double contradiction? Answering those questions will help us face our future with greater clarity.